Methods, systems, and products for obtaining social communities

ABSTRACT

Methods, devices, and products are disclosed for recommending a social community. A “social community” may be any individual(s), clubs, and/or organizations that have expressed some affinity to terms or subject matter, such as a media identifier. The media identifier identifies some media that is scheduled for recording. A community database is queried for the media identifier, and the community database associates social communities to media identifiers. The social community associated with the media identifier is retrieved. The social community is then sent to a user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/900,732, filed Sep. 13, 2007, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,171,044,and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

This application generally relates to interactive multimediadistribution systems and, more particularly, to operator interfaces andto interaction.

Many people enjoy movies, TV programs, music, and even games. Manypeople would enjoy meeting others who share an interest in a show, game,or movie. Some people, for example, greatly enjoy the STAR WARS® moviesand would like to meet other people who share their interest. Somepeople who enjoy jazz music may wish to meet others who share that sameenjoyment.

SUMMARY

The aforementioned problems, and other problems, are addressed,according to exemplary embodiments, by methods, systems, and productsthat recommend social communities to users. The term “social community,”as used herein, includes any individual(s), clubs, and/or organizationsthat have expressed some affinity to terms or subject matter. A socialcommunity, for example, may be a website, chat room, distribution list,and/or individual user who has expressed some association, likeness,relationship, attraction, or, in general, affinity with a term orsubject. Some exemplary embodiments, for example, describe a method thatreceives a media identifier. The media identifier identifies a movie,program, game, music, or other media for which the user has expressed aninterest. A community database may be queried for the media identifier,and the community database associates social communities to mediaidentifiers. The social community associated with the media identifieris retrieved. The social community is then sent to the user.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system is disclosed for recommendinga social community. The system is operative to receive a mediaidentifier and query a community database for the media identifier. Thecommunity database associates social communities to media identifiers.The social community associated with the media identifier is retrieved.The social community is then sent to the user.

More exemplary embodiments describe a computer program product forrecommending a social community. The computer program product includesprocessor-executable instructions for receiving a media identifier andfor querying a community database for the media identifier. Thecommunity database associates social communities to media identifiers.The social community associated with the media identifier is retrieved.The social community is then sent to the user.

Other systems, methods, and/or devices according to the exemplaryembodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponreview of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, and/or devices beincluded within this description, be within the scope of the exemplaryembodiments, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the exemplaryembodiments are better understood when the following DetailedDescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIGS. 1-3 are schematics illustrating an operating environment,according to exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating a process for recommending socialcommunities, according to more exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustrating another process for recommendingsocial communities, according to even more exemplary embodiments;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematics further illustrating a process forrecommending social communities, according to even more exemplaryembodiments;

FIG. 8 is a schematic further illustrating yet another process forrecommending social communities, according to still more exemplaryembodiments;

FIG. 9 is a schematic further illustrating another process forrecommending social communities, according to yet more exemplaryembodiments;

FIG. 10 is a schematic further illustrating yet another process forrecommending social communities, according to still more exemplaryembodiments;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are schematics illustrating a graphical user interface230 for recommending social communities, according to more exemplaryembodiments;

FIG. 13 depicts other possible operating environments for additionalaspects of the exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for recommending socialcommunities, according to more exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 15 is another flowchart illustrating another method forrecommending social communities, according to more exemplaryembodiments; and

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating another method for recommendingsocial communities, according to more exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings. The reader shouldrecognize, however, that the exemplary embodiments may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey thescope of the exemplary embodiments. Moreover, all statements hereinreciting exemplary embodiments, as well as specific examples thereof,are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalentsthereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in thefuture (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function,regardless of structure).

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill inthe art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the likerepresent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methodsof the exemplary embodiments. The functions of the various elementsshown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicatedhardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software.Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Theirfunction may be carried out through the operation of program logic,through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control anddedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique beingselectable by the entity implementing the exemplary embodiments. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplaryhardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systemsdescribed herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are notintended to be limited to any particular named manufacturer.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an operating environment, accordingto exemplary embodiments. FIG. 1 illustrates a user's electronic device20 communicating with a server 22 via a communications network 24.Although the user's electronic device 20 is generically shown, as laterparagraphs will explain, the electronic device 20 may be a computer,set-top box, digital recorder, or any other device. Whatever the user'selectronic device 20, the user's electronic device 20 may have aprocessor 26 (e.g., “μP”), application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), or other similar device that executes a recording application 28stored in memory 30. According to exemplary embodiments, the recordingapplication 28 may include processor-executable code or instructionsthat cause the processor 26 to record some media (e.g., movie, music,programming, and/or image). The processor 26 may also communicate with auser interface 32 for indicating what media is to be recorded. The userinterface 32 is illustrated as a remote control 34, but the userinterface 32 may be a control panel, keypad, keyboard, display, or anyother means for receiving spoken or tactile inputs. The processor 26receives an input via the user interface 32, and the input instructs theprocessor 26 to create an entry 36 in a recording schedule 38. Therecording schedule 38 is stored in the memory 30 and may identify themedia selected for recording.

The server 22 receives the recording schedule 38. Whenever the userdesires to schedule recording of a programming event or media, theprocessor 26 may inform the server 22. As FIG. 1 illustrates, therecording application 28 may instruct the processor 26 to invoke anetwork interface 40 to communicate the recording schedule 38 to theserver 22. The processor 26 thus sends the recording schedule 38 via thecommunications network 24 to the server 22. The recording application 28may instruct the processor 26 to send the recording schedule 38 on anhourly, daily, weekly, or other temporal-based measure. The recordingschedule 38 may additionally or alternatively be sent whenever a changeoccurs, such as when a new or different event or media is scheduled forrecording and/or for deletion. The recording application 28 mayadditionally or alternatively only send individual titles or otheridentifiers of additions or changes to the recording schedule 38.Regardless, the server 22 may be notified of any event or media that isscheduled for recording by the user's electronic device 20 (or by anydevice networked with the user's electronic device 20).

The reader is assumed to be generally familiar with recording schedules.If, however, the reader desires more information, the reader is invitedto consult the following sources: U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,469 to Callahan etal. (Sep. 14, 2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2002/0144289 toTaguchi et al. (Oct. 3, 2002); Published U.S. Patent Application2003/0005432 to Ellis et al. (Jan. 2, 2003); Published U.S. PatentApplication 2003/0131355 to Berenson et al. (Jul. 10, 2003); PublishedU.S. Patent Application 2003/0208767 to Williamson et al. (Nov. 6,2003); Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0008972 to Haken (Jan. 15,2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0013409 to Beach et al.(Jan. 22, 2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0060063 to Russet al. (Mar. 25, 2004); Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0078817to Horowitz et al. (Apr. 22, 2004); and Published U.S. PatentApplication 2005/0229212 to Kuether et al. (Oct. 13, 2005). The readermay also consult U.S. application Ser. No. 11/413,886, filed Apr. 28,2006.

FIG. 2 is a schematic further illustrating the operating environment,according to more exemplary embodiments. Here the server 22 is simplyillustrated, with a server processor 50 communicating with a networkinterface 52 and with server memory 54. A community application 56 isstored in the server memory 54. According to exemplary embodiments, thecommunity application 56 may include processor-executable code orinstructions that cause the server processor 50 to analyze the recordingschedule 38 and to recommend one or more social communities. As FIG. 2illustrates, the server processor 50 receives the user's recordingschedule 38 via the network interface 52 to the communications network24. The recording schedule 38 may indicate what media is scheduled forrecording by the user's electronic device 20. The recording schedule 38may identify the media to be recorded, such as by a media identifier 58.The media identifier 58 may be any alphanumeric identification thatuniquely identifies the media. While the media identifier 58 may be atitle, for example, the media identifier 58 is more likely a code thatuniquely identifies the media to be recorded. The recording schedule 38may also identify a time 60 and/or a date 62 of scheduled recording, achannel 64 on which the programming event may be offered/scheduled,and/or a network address 66 from which the media may be obtained.

The community application 56 may query a community database 70. Thecommunity database 70 is illustrated as being locally stored in theserver memory 54, yet the community database 70 may be remotely storedand accessed via the communications network 24. The community database70 associates social communities to media identifiers. FIG. 2, forexample, illustrates the community database 70 as a table 72 that maps,relates, or otherwise associates media identifiers 58 to socialcommunities 76. The community application 56 may extract the mediaidentifier 58 from the recording schedule 38. When the recordingschedule 38 identifies the time 60 and/or the date 62 of scheduledrecording, the channel 64 on which the media may be scheduled, and/orthe network address 66 from which the media may be obtained, then thecommunity application 56 may discard one, some, or all of thatinformation from the recording schedule 38. The community application 56may then query the community database 70 for the media identifier 58associated with the media to be recorded by the user's electronic device20.

The community application 56 retrieves a social community. When thecommunity database 70 receives the media identifier 58, the communitydatabase 70 looks up or retrieves any social communities 76 that areassociated with the media identifier 58. The social communities 76 maybe any individuals, clubs, and/or organizations that are related to themedia identifier 58. The social communities 76 may include websites,chat rooms, group lists, distribution lists, and/or other electroniccommunities that are associated with the media identifier 58. Suppose,for example, that the media identifier 58 corresponds to a NASCAR® race.That is, the user's electronic device 20 (or some networked device) isscheduled to record a NASCAR® race. The community database 70 may thenretrieve one or more social communities 76 that are related to the mediaidentifier 58 (corresponding to the NASCAR® race). The communitydatabase 70, for example, may retrieve one or more chat room addressesthat are topically oriented to NASCAR® fans. The community database 70may retrieve website and server addresses representing fan clubs,enthusiast's sites, ticket agencies, and/or travel agencies. Thecommunity database 70 may retrieve website addresses for merchantsselling/offering NASCAR®-related clothing, souvenirs, goods, andservices. The community database 70 may retrieve any server ordestination address having content related to the media identifier 58.

The community database 70 may also retrieve lists of addresses. Thecommunity database 70, for example, may associate the media identifier58 to one or more user groups. Each user group may be one or morecommunications addresses for users that have expressed an affinity forthe media identifier 58. A user group may include members orparticipants who are merchants, clubs, and/or formal organizations. Thecommunity database 70, for example, may retrieve a listing of email,instant messaging, pager, website, or any other communications addressesfor users belonging to some NASCAR®-oriented community. The communitydatabase 70 may retrieve a listing of communications addresses forindividual users who wish to converse/communicate about NASCAR®. Again,the listing of communications addresses may include email and/or instantmessaging addresses for individual users, yet the listing may alsoinclude telephone numbers and/or physical addresses. The communitydatabase 70 may retrieve any user name, address, club, or organizationhaving an affinity with the media identifier 58.

The media identifier 58 and the community database 70 may be expanded.The media identifier 58 may additionally or alternatively include anyinformation related to media. The media identifier 58, for example, mayinclude a name of an actor (“Harrison Ford”) or actress (“BettyGrable”). The media identifier 58 may describe a genre (“educational,”“science,” “romance,” or “action”). The media identifier 58 may describea theme (e.g., “racing,” “antiques,” “horses,” or “gardening”), setting(“hospital” or “restaurant”), location (“New York” or “Paris”), or scene(“harbor” or “farm”). The media identifier 58 may describe a producer,director, animator, or other person/entity (e.g., PIXAR®) involved inthe media production. The media identifier 58 may describe one or morecharacters, such as LUKE SKYWALKER® or JAMES BOND®. The media identifier58 may even describe names, phone numbers, websites, physical addresses,or any other information. The media identifier 58, in general, maydescribe any term(s) or subject(s). The community database 70, then, maybe expanded to associate these terms and/or subjects to socialcommunities. The community database 70 may store any social communityhaving an affinity for any term or subject matter. When a socialcommunity registers for inclusion in the community database 70, thecommunity may list or include any number of terms for which an affinityis desired.

FIG. 3 is a schematic further illustrating the operating environment,according to exemplary embodiments. Whatever the media identifier 58,the community application 56 may retrieve one or more social communities76 that are associated with the media identifier 58. The communityapplication 56 may instruct the server processor 50 to send a listing 90of communities. The listing 90 of communities may comprise the queryresults from the community database 70. The listing 90 of communitiesmay comprise information describing users, addresses, club names, and/ororganizations having any affinity with the media identifier 58. Thelisting 90 of communities may comprise information describing chatrooms, user groups, IM communities, or individual users having anaffinity with the media identifier 58. FIG. 3, for simplicity,illustrates the listing 90 of communities being communicated to theuser's electronic device 20. The listing 90 of communities, however, maybe sent to any physical or electronic address associated with the user.

The user receives the listing 90 of communities. The user's electronicdevice 20 may visually and/or audibly present the listing 90 ofcommunities (such as on a display device 92). The user is thus informedof others who share some similar affinity for the same media identifier58. The user may then contact any member, user, or address in thelisting 90 of communities and share similar interests and/orexperiences.

Some aspects of social communities are known, so this disclosure willnot discuss the known aspects. If, however, the reader desires moreinformation, the reader is invited to consult the following sources:U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,771 to Zenith; Published U.S. Patent Application2003/0078972 to Tapissier, et al.; Published U.S. Patent Application2004/0111467 to Willis; Published U.S. Patent Application 2004/0117831to Ellis, et al.; Published U.S. Patent Application 2005/0071884 toChampel, et al.; Published U.S. Patent Application 2005/0132401 toBoccon-Gibod, et al.; Published U.S. Patent Application 2005/0149987 toBoccon-Gibod, et al.; Published U.S. Patent Application 2006/0123080 toBaudino, et al.; Published U.S. Patent Application 2006/0271961 toJacoby, et al.; and Published U.S. Patent Application 2006/0282851 toErrico, et al.

The server 22 is only simply illustrated. Because the architecture andoperating principles of the server 22 are well known, its hardware andsoftware components are not further shown and described. If the readerdesires more details, the reader is invited to consult the followingsources: ANDREW TANENBAUM, COMPUTER NETWORKS (4^(th) edition 2003);WILLIAM STALLINGS, COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURE: DESIGNING FORPERFORMANCE (7^(th) Ed., 2005); and DAVID A. PATTERSON & JOHN L.HENNESSY, COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND DESIGN: THE HARDWARE/SOFTWAREINTERFACE (3^(rd). Edition 2004).

Exemplary embodiments may be applied regardless of networkingenvironment. The communications network 24 may be a cable networkoperating in the radio-frequency domain and/or the Internet Protocol(IP) domain. The communications network 24, however, may also include adistributed computing network, such as the Internet (sometimesalternatively known as the “World Wide Web”), an intranet, a local-areanetwork (LAN), and/or a wide-area network (WAN). The communicationsnetwork 24 may include coaxial cables, copper wires, fiber optic lines,and/or hybrid-coaxial lines. The communications network 24 may eveninclude wireless portions utilizing any portion of the electromagneticspectrum and any signaling standard (such as the I.E.E.E. 802 family ofstandards, GSM/CDMA/TDMA or any cellular standard, and/or the ISM band).The concepts described herein may be applied to any wireless/wirelinecommunications network, regardless of physical componentry, physicalconfiguration, or communications standard(s).

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating a process for recommending socialcommunities, according to more exemplary embodiments. Here exemplaryembodiments share communities amongst buddies. That is, when a “buddy”is a member of a social community, exemplary embodiments may informother “buddies” of those same communities. A “buddy” designation betweenusers may indicate similar interests, so buddies may be recommended thesame social communities.

As FIG. 4 illustrates, the server 22 receives the user's recordingschedule 38 (Block 100). The recording schedule 38 may include the mediaidentifier 58, and the recording schedule 38 may include a useridentification 102. The user identification 102 may be a username,password, or other alphanumeric identifier that uniquely identifies theuser associated with the recording schedule 38. The communityapplication 56 may query a buddy database 104 for the useridentification 102 (Block 106). The buddy database 104 is illustrated asbeing locally stored in the server 22, yet the buddy database 104 may beremotely stored and accessed via the communications network (illustratedas reference numeral 24 in FIGS. 1-3). The buddy database 104 may alsocooperate with, or be incorporated into, the community database(illustrated as reference numeral 70 in FIGS. 2 and 3). The buddydatabase 104 may associate user identifications to buddies and/or buddylists. The buddy database 104, in other words, helps determine a user'sbuddies. The buddy database 104 responds by returning/sending one ormore buddy user identifications that are associated with the useridentification 102. The community application 56 retrieves the buddyuser identifications associated with the user identification 102 (Block108).

The community application 56 may then query a community membershipdatabase 110 (Block 112). The community membership database 110 maps,relates, or otherwise associates user identifications to membershiplistings of social communities. The community membership database 110 isillustrated as being locally stored in the server 22, yet the communitymembership database 110 may be remotely stored and accessed via thecommunications network 24. The community membership database 110 mayalso cooperate with, or be incorporated into, the community database(illustrated as reference numeral 70 in FIGS. 2 and 3). The communityapplication 56 queries the community membership database 110 for thebuddy user identifications. The community membership database 110, inother words, tracks what users (e.g., user identifications) areassociated with social communities. Suppose, for example, that a buddybelongs to a “home repair” community. When the “home repair” communityis registered in the community membership database 110, then thecommunity membership database 110 may store or access a membershiplisting for the “home repair” community. The community membershipdatabase 110 responds to queries by providing names of socialcommunities for which the buddy belongs. The community application 56may then retrieve the names of social communities associated with thebuddy's user identification (Block 114).

The user may then receive the names of the buddy's social communities.The community application 56 may send the names of the buddy's socialcommunities (Block 116). The user's electronic device 20 may visuallyand/or audibly present the names (such as on the display device 92illustrated in FIG. 3). The community application 56 may send anotification informing the user of the buddy's communities (e.g., “Yourbuddy ‘johnsmith’ is a member of the ‘home repair’ community.”). Theuser is thus informed of the buddy's social communities. Here, then, thecommunity application 56 may assume that “buddies” share a similaraffinity for social communities. When a user's buddy belongs to a socialcommunity, then the community application 56 may recommend that samecommunity to the user.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustrating another process for recommendingsocial communities, according to even more exemplary embodiments. Hereexemplary embodiments may automatically enroll the user in the buddy'ssocial communities. The community application 56 retrieves the addressesand/or names of social communities associated with the buddy's useridentification (Block 120). The community application 56 may send thosesocial communities to the user's electronic device 20 (Block 122). Here,though, the community application 56 may also automatically enroll theuser in one or more of the buddy's communities. The communityapplication 56 acts on behalf of the user to enroll the user in the oneor more of the buddy's social communities. The community application 56may be configured to assume that one, some, or all “buddies” share asimilar affinity for social communities. As FIG. 5 illustrates, thecommunity application 56 may send an instruction to add the useridentification to a membership listing associated with the buddy'ssocial community (Block 124). The community application 56 may send theinstruction to a server, application, or other network address thatstores, maintains, or manages the membership listing. The communityapplication 56, for example, may send the instruction to a serveraddress that stores a membership listing for the “home repair”community. The instruction may include any information needed forenrollment, such as a username and/or password associated with the user.The community application 56 may receive a response that confirms ordenies enrollment (Block 126). When enrollment is confirmed, thecommunity application 56 may update the community membership database110 with the user's identification (Block 128). The communityapplication 56 thus helps maintain accurate membership listings ofsocial communities.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematics further illustrating a process forrecommending social communities, according to even more exemplaryembodiments. Here exemplary embodiments may remove users from socialcommunities. As FIG. 6 illustrates, the community application 56 maysend a notification of the buddy's social communities (Block 140). Thenotification may include or list one or more names of the buddy's socialcommunities. The notification may cause the recording application 28 toprompt the user to accept membership in one or more of the buddy'ssocial communities (e.g., “Would you like to be enrolled in the ‘homerepair’ community?”) (Block 142). When the user affirmatively responds(Block 144), the community application 56 may send the instruction tothe network address that stores, maintains, or manages the correspondingmembership listing (Block 146). (Should the user negatively respond,then no instruction may be sent.) When the community application 56receives an enrollment confirmation (Block 148), the communityapplication 56 may update the community membership database 110 with theuser's identification (Block 150).

The process continues with FIG. 7. Sometimes, however, a user may beautomatically removed from a social community. At any time, for example,the user may request for removal from a community. The communityapplication 56 may receive a removal request (Block 152). The communityapplication 56 may then send a removal instruction to the networkaddress that stores, maintains, or manages the corresponding membershiplisting (Block 154). The removal instruction causes removal or deletionof a user identification from a community's membership roster orlisting.

The recording schedule may also cause automatic removed from a socialcommunity. As the above paragraphs explained, the community application56 may recommend, and perhaps enroll the user in, social communities.Sometimes, however, the user may no longer desire to record an event ormedia. Perhaps the user is no longer interested in the media. Perhapsthe user learns that the programming event contains objectionablematerial. Whatever the reason, the user may delete an entry from therecording schedule 38. When the user deletes an entry from the recordingschedule, the recording application 28 may send a recording cancellationmessage. When the server 22 receives the recording cancellation message(Block 156), the recording cancellation message may identify the useridentification 102 and the media identifier 58 that has been removedfrom the user's recording schedule. Because the user has deleted thismedia identifier 58 from the recording schedule 38, the communityapplication 56 may remove the user from social communities associatedwith the media identifier 58. The community application 56, for example,may instruct (or send an instruction to) the community membershipdatabase 110 (Block 158). The instruction may include the useridentification 102 and the media identifier 58. The instruction causesthe community membership database 110 to remove the user identification102 from any social communities associated with the media identifier 58.The community application 56 may additionally or alternatively send aninstruction to the network address that stores, maintains, or managesthe community's corresponding membership listing (Block 160). Theinstruction causes removal or deletion of the user identification 102from the community's membership roster or listing. Here, then, deletionof an entry from the recording schedule may trigger removal ofmembership in a community.

FIG. 8 is a schematic further illustrating yet another process forrecommending social communities, according to still more exemplaryembodiments. Here the user's recording schedule 38 may be automaticallyupdated to schedule recording of programming and other media items. Whenthe community application 56 receives the user's recording schedule 38,the community application 56 retrieves the social communities associatedwith the media identifier 58 (Block 170). The community application 56may also retrieve network addresses associated with each socialcommunity (Block 172). The community application 56 may then query anetwork address for one or more popular media items (Block 174). Eachpopular media item may be some program, movie, picture, website, chatroom, or any other media that is popularly recommended by the socialcommunity. Members of the social community may vote or rank media thatis of interest to the members. Members of the social community maydevelop a recommendation list of media that is of interest to themembers. However the popular media items are determined, the communityapplication 56 may query for those media items that are popularlyrecommended by the community. The community application 56 retrieves arecommended media identifier associated with each popular media item(Block 176). The community application 56 may then send a recordinginstruction to the user's electronic device 20 (Block 178). Therecording instruction includes the recommended media identifier thatcorresponds to the popular media item recommended by the community. Therecording instruction causes the recording application 28 to create anew entry in the user's recording schedule 38 (Block 180). The recordinginstruction may include a time, channel, and/or network addressassociated with the recommended media identifier. The recordingapplication 28 thus adds the recommended media identifier to therecording schedule 38. The recording application 28 may initiate asearch for programming details associated with the recommended mediaidentifier. The recording application 28, for example, may search aprogram listing or electronic program guide for the recommended mediaidentifier. The recording application 28 may query a database server(such as a YAHOO® or GOOGLE® server) for programming details (e.g.,channel, date, and/or time of broadcast or a content server address).However the details are obtained, the user's recording schedule 38 maybe updated to record content recommended by a social community.

FIG. 9 is a schematic further illustrating another process forrecommending social communities, according to yet more exemplaryembodiments. Here again the user's recording schedule 38 may beautomatically updated to schedule recording of programming and othermedia items. When the community application 56 receives the user'srecording schedule 38, the community application 56 may query arecording database 190 (Block 192). The recording database 190 isillustrated as being locally stored in the server memory 54, yet therecording database 190 may be remotely stored and accessed via thecommunications network 24. The recording database 190 may also cooperatewith, or be incorporated into, the community database (illustrated asreference numeral 70 in FIGS. 2 and 3). The recording database 190tallies how many users are recording a particular media item. Therecording database 190 thus tracks and/or ranks the most popular mediaand/or programming events that are being recorded by a population ofusers. The recording database 190, for example, may be affiliated with asocial community, such that the user's affinity for that socialcommunity helps ensure the popularly-recorded media may be of interestto the user. The recording database 190, however, may tally therecording habits of a neighborhood, city, county, state, or otherregional/geographic population. The recording database 190 may tallyusers' recording habits by sex (male and female users), by age (e.g.,children, teens, adults, senior citizens), income, or by any otherdemographic.

The community application 56 receives a response to the query (Block194). The recording database 190 responds with one or more popular mediaidentifiers 58 that correspond to popular media items that are beingrecorded by other users. The community application 56 may then send arecording instruction to the user's electronic device 20 (Block 196).The recording instruction may include the popular media identifiers 58and causes the recording application 28 to create one or more newentries in the user's recording schedule 38 (Block 198). The recordinginstruction may include a time, channel, and/or network addressassociated with the popular media identifiers 58. The recordingapplication 28 thus adds the popular media identifiers 58 to therecording schedule 38. The recording application 28, if needed, mayinitiate a search for programming details associated with the popularmedia identifiers 58 (as explained with reference to FIG. 8). Howeverthe details are obtained, the user's recording schedule is updated torecord popular content.

FIG. 10 is a schematic further illustrating yet another process forrecommending social communities, according to more exemplaryembodiments. Here social communities may recommend media according toratings or other evaluations. When the user enrolls in a socialcommunity, exemplary embodiments may permit that user to establishminimum ratings for recommendations. That is, the user may establish aprofile that limits what media content may be recommended by otherusers. As FIG. 9 illustrates, the community application 56 may receive aminimum threshold that is permitted by a user (Block 210). The user, forexample, may only desire recommended media having a three-star (***) orfour-star (****) rating. The user may only be interested in media thathas a “top 5” ranking. However a community or population of usersrecommends media, the user may only wish to be informed of media thatsatisfies the minimum threshold rating or ranking. The communityapplication 56 may then query a community or other network address forthe minimum threshold (Block 212). The community application 56 may thusretrieve a list of media identifiers 58 that satisfy the minimumthreshold (Block 214). The community application 56 may then send arecording instruction to the user's electronic device 20 (Block 216).The recording instruction may include the list of media identifiers 58that satisfy the minimum threshold. The recording instruction causes therecording application 28 to create a new entry in the user's recordingschedule 38 for each media identifier 58 (Block 218). The user'srecording schedule is thus updated to record content that satisfies theminimum threshold.

Exemplary embodiments may even pre-populate media to the user'selectronic device 20. When the community application 56 determines orreceives media content that may appeal to a user, the communityapplication 56 may cause that media content to be downloaded to theuser's electronic device 20 (or some other destination networked with,associated with, or specified by the user). Continuing with FIG. 10, forexample, the community application 56 may send a download instruction toa content server 220 (Block 222). The download instruction, for example,may include some (or all) of the list of media identifiers that satisfythe minimum threshold. The download instruction, however, may includeany media identifier that may appeal, or has an affinity with, the user.The download instruction may instruct the content server to send ordownload content, associated with the selected media identifier, to theuser's electronic device 20. Here, then, the community application 56may pre-populate the user's electronic device 20 with programming and/ormedia that appeals to the user. The community application 56 may thuscreate a selection of content for the user's immediate enjoyment.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are schematics illustrating a graphical user interface230 for recommending social communities, according to more exemplaryembodiments. The graphical user interface 230 is illustrated as beingprocessed and visually produced by the recording application 28 on thedisplay device 92, yet the graphical user interface 230 may have audiblecomponentry or accompaniments. The graphical user interface 230 has adata field 232 into which the user enters the media identifier 58. Themedia identifier 58, as earlier explained, may describe any term(s) orsubject(s) which interest the user. Once the user enters the desiredmedia identifier 58 (such as by typing “nascar” in the data field 232),the user submits the media identifier 58 to the community application 56operating in the server 22. (The user, for example, may select a “FindCommunities” control button 234.) The media identifier 58 is sent to thecommunity application 56 (via the communications network 24 shown inFIGS. 1-3), and the community application 56 queries the communitydatabase 70. The community application 56 then returns the listing 90 ofcommunities that have an affinity or association with the mediaidentifier 58. The recording application 28 then presents the listing 90of communities in the graphical user interface 230. When one or moresocial communities interest the user, the user may highlight thosecommunities and, for example, select a “Join Community” control button236. The user is then enrolled in the selected communities, as earlierparagraphs explained. Should the user desire more information on aparticular community, the user may highlight or otherwise indicate thatcommunity and, for example, select a “Community Info” control button238. The recording application 28 may then cooperate with the communityapplication 56 to obtain information about the selected community. Therecording application 28 and/or the community application 56, forexample, may query an address associate with that community to obtaincommunity information.

The user may be presented with other options for joining communities.Some digital recorders, for example, offer a “Season Pass” or “WishList” recording feature. Exemplary embodiments may be incorporated intothe “Season Pass” or “Wish List” recording features. Should a userselect either feature, the user may be offered an opportunity to join acommunity associated with the programming event. When, for example, theuser schedules recording of “Alias” or “Lost,” the user may joincommunities associated with either program. If the user wishes to recordany program or media in which “Alicia Witt” is acting, exemplaryembodiments may offer the user an opportunity to join a communityassociated with “Alicia Witt.” If no community exists, then the user maybe offered an opportunity to create a new community in the communitydatabase 70. When, for example, a response from the community database70 indicates that no community is associated with the media identifier58, then exemplary embodiments may prompt the user create a new socialcommunity associated with the media identifier 58. The graphical userinterface 230 may have a “Create Community” control button (not shownfor simplicity) that, when selected, allows the user to establish a newcommunity in the community database 70. The community database 70creates a new entry that associates the user to the media identifier 58.The user may also associate names and/or addresses of other sponsors andusers that might be interested in the new community. Exemplaryembodiments may automatically send an invitation to each potentialsponsor and member.

The user may select a “My Communities” control button 240. When the userselects the “My Communities” control button 240, the user is presentedwith a listing of communities for which the user is a member. Therecording application 28 may then cooperate with the communityapplication 56 to query the community membership database 110. Recallthat the community membership database 110 associates useridentifications to social communities. The recording application 28and/or the community application 56 query the community membershipdatabase 110 for the user identification. The community membershipdatabase 110 responds with a listing of social communities having theuser identification as a member.

FIG. 12 further illustrates the graphical user interface 230. Here thegraphical user interface 230 displays a listing 242 of socialcommunities for which the user is a member. When the user desires to seea listing of the members of a particular community, the user mayhighlight the desired community and, for example, select a “CommunityMembers” control button 244. The recording application 28 and/or thecommunity application 56 may query the community membership database 110for all user identifications associated with the selected community. Thecommunity membership database 110 responds with a listing of useridentifications. The recording application 28 may then causepresentation of a member listing 246 for the community. When therecording application 28, the community application 56, and/or thecommunity membership database 110 is appropriately configured, themember listing 246 may even include presence information for eachmember. The user may thus know what members are reachable (e.g.,online/offline) and even how an individual member may be reached(instant message, email, cell phone).

The user may send invites. The user may highlight one or members andselect a “Send Invite” control button 248. The recording application 28,the community application 56, and/or the community membership database110 may then cooperate to invite the selected member(s) to join thecommunity. The invite may be of any communications method (such asemail, instant message, telephone call, or voicemail). Exemplaryembodiments may even automatically alert a community member of actionsor events in the community, such as scheduled or spontaneous chatsessions, new web log entries, new members, or the presence ofparticular members. Exemplary embodiments may even query a communityserver for current events or actions, such as what topics are currentlybeing discussed or chatted. Exemplary embodiments may even permitvideo/voice conferences between members of a community.

Users may establish rules. Exemplary embodiments may permit users toestablish rules for joining communities, for automatic actions on behalfof the user (such as automatic enrollment), for recording of media,and/or for communicating with members of communities. Some users, forexample, may not want to accept messages (e.g., emails, chat messages,or calls) while recording or watching media. “Do Not Disturb” rules mayprevent or hinder communications from some members. Auto-replies may beestablished when rules are enacted.

Some exemplary embodiments may provide other listings. The user, forexample, may be provided a listing of buddies, each buddy's presence,and even what media that buddy is receiving/watching. The user may viewmembers, and even non-members, who are watching a particular media orprogram (such as “CSI”). Exemplary embodiments may indicate in whatcommunities a particular user is enrolled, if that particular memberpermits revealing this information.

Some exemplary embodiments may permit sorting. Members and/orcommunities may be sorted or arranged according to priority. A userdetermines what members, and/or what communities, have higher priority.Any listings or groupings, then, may be sorted arranged according tothis priority. Users and/or buddies may even be sorted or arranged basedon common attributes. When, for example, two users have similaraffinities for the same media or communities, either of those users mayestablish a priority for users having more or less affinity.

FIG. 13 depicts other possible operating environments for additionalaspects of the exemplary embodiments. FIG. 13 illustrates that therecording application 28 and/or the community application 56 mayalternatively or additionally operate within various other devices 300.FIG. 13, for example, illustrates that the recording application 28and/or the community application 56 may entirely or partially operatewithin a set-top box 302, a personal/digital video recorder (PVR/DVR)304, personal digital assistant (PDA) 306, a Global Positioning System(GPS) device 308, an interactive television 310, an Internet Protocol(IP) phone 312, a pager 314, a cellular/satellite phone 316, or anycomputer system and/or communications device utilizing a digital signalprocessor (DSP) 318. The device 300 may also include watches, radios,vehicle electronics, clocks, printers, gateways, and other apparatusesand systems. Because the architecture and operating principles of thevarious devices 300 are well known, the hardware and softwarecomponentry of the various devices 300 are not further shown anddescribed. If, however, the reader desires more details, the reader isinvited to consult the following sources: LAWRENCE HARTE et al., GSMSUPERPHONES (1999); SIEGMUND REDL et al., GSM AND PERSONALCOMMUNICATIONS HANDBOOK (1998); and JOACHIM TISAL, GSM CELLULAR RADIOTELEPHONY (1997); the GSM Standard 2.17, formally known SubscriberIdentity Modules, Functional Characteristics (GSM 02.17 V3.2.0(1995-01))”; the GSM Standard 11.11, formally known as Specification ofthe Subscriber Identity Module-Mobile Equipment (Subscriber IdentityModule-ME) interface (GSM 11.11 V5.3.0 (1996-07))”; MICHEAL ROBIN &MICHEL POULIN, DIGITAL TELEVISION FUNDAMENTALS (2000); JERRY WHITAKERAND BLAIR BENSON, VIDEO AND TELEVISION ENGINEERING (2003); JERRYWHITAKER, DTV HANDBOOK (2001); JERRY WHITAKER, DTV: THE REVOLUTION INELECTRONIC IMAGING (1998); EDWARD M. SCHWALB, ITV HANDBOOK: TECHNOLOGIESAND STANDARDS (2004); ANDREW TANENBAUM, COMPUTER NETWORKS (4^(th)edition 2003); WILLIAM STALLINGS, COMPUTER ORGANIZATION ANDARCHITECTURE: DESIGNING FOR PERFORMANCE (7^(th) Ed., 2005); and DAVID A.PATTERSON & JOHN L. HENNESSY, COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND DESIGN: THEHARDWARE/SOFTWARE INTERFACE (3^(rd). Edition 2004).

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for recommending socialcommunities, according to more exemplary embodiments. A media identifier58 is received that identifies media scheduled for recording by a user'sdevice 20 (Block 400). A community database 70 may be queried for themedia identifier 58, and the community database 70 associates socialcommunities to media identifiers (Block 402). A social community (suchas a server or network address) associated with the media identifier 58is retrieved (Block 404) and sent to the user (Block 406).

FIG. 15 is another flowchart illustrating another method forrecommending social communities, according to more exemplaryembodiments. A media identifier 58 is received (Block 500). A communitydatabase 70 may be queried for the media identifier 58 (Block 502). Asocial community is retrieved (Block 504) and sent to the user (Block506). The social community may be queried for a popular media item(Block 508). An instruction may be sent to have the popular media itemadded to a recording schedule (Block 510). A recording database may bequeried for a popularly recorded media item, with the recording databasetallying how many users are recording media items (Block 512). Anidentifier of a popular media item that is being recorded by other usersis retrieved (Block 514). An instruction is sent to have the popularmedia item added to the recording schedule (Block 516). The socialcommunity may be queried for a media rating (Block 518) and a list ofmedia identifiers 58 is retrieved that is associated with the mediarating (Block 520). An instruction may be sent to have the list of mediaidentifiers 58 added to a recording schedule (Block 522). An instructionmay additionally or alternatively be sent to download each media itemlisted in the list of media identifiers 58 to populate the user'sdevice.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating another method for recommendingsocial communities, according to more exemplary embodiments. A useridentification 102 may be received (Block 600). A buddy database 104 maybe queried for the user identification 102 (Block 602). A buddy's useridentification, associated with the user identification 102, isretrieved (Block 604). A community membership database 110 is queriedfor the buddy's user identification, with the community membershipdatabase 110 associating user identifications to membership listings ofsocial communities (Block 606). The buddy's social community (associatedwith the buddy's user identification) is retrieved (Block 608) and sentto the user (Block 610). An instruction may be sent to add the useridentification to a membership listing associated with the buddy'ssocial community (Block 612). When a recording cancellation message isreceived that indicates the media has been removed from a recordingschedule, then the user identification is removed from the membershiplisting associated with the buddy's social community (Block 614).

The recording application 28 and/or the community application 56 may bephysically embodied on or in a computer-readable medium. Thiscomputer-readable medium may include CD-ROM, DVD, tape, cassette, floppydisk, memory card, and large-capacity disk (such as IOMEGA®, ZIP®,JAZZ®, and other large-capacity memory products (IOMEGA®, ZIP®, andJAZZ® are registered trademarks of Iomega Corporation, 1821 W. IomegaWay, Roy, Utah 84067, 801.332.1000, www.iomega.com). Thiscomputer-readable medium, or media, could be distributed to end-users,licensees, and assignees. These types of computer-readable media, andother types not mention here but considered within the scope of theembodiments, allow exemplary embodiments to be easily disseminated. Acomputer program product comprises the computer-readable medium andstores computer-executable and/or processor-executable code orinstructions.

While the exemplary embodiments have been described with respect tovarious features, aspects, and embodiments, those skilled and unskilledin the art will recognize the exemplary embodiments are not so limited.Other variations, modifications, and alternative embodiments may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the exemplaryembodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for obtaining social communities,comprising: receiving, at a server, a recording schedule comprisingmedia identifiers of content to be recorded by a client device;determining the media identifiers of all added season pass entries anddeleted entries; for each determined media identifier: querying a mediadatabase for the determined media identifier, the media database storingassociations between the media identifiers and subject matters;retrieving a subject matter from the media database that is associatedwith the determined media identifier in the recording schedule; queryinga community database for the subject matter, the community databaseassociating different social communities to different subject matters;retrieving a website address of a social community from the communitydatabase that is associated with the subject matter; in response todetermining an entry is added to the recording schedule for a seasonpass of the one of the media identifiers, sending an opportunity to jointhe social community to the client device; in response to determiningthe client device accepted the opportunity to join the social community,adding a device identifier of the client device to membership in thesocial community; and in response to determining the entry is deletedfrom the recording schedule for the season pass of the one of the mediaidentifiers, removing the device identifier of the client device fromthe membership in the social community.
 2. The method according to claim1, further comprising retrieving multiple website addresses associatedwith the subject matter.
 3. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising sending the website address of the social community to theclient device.
 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingreceiving a cancellation message.
 5. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: receiving a user identification associated with theone of the media identifiers; and querying a buddy database for the useridentification.
 6. The method according to claim 5, further comprisingretrieving a buddy associated with the user identification.
 7. Themethod according to claim 6, further comprising querying for one of thedifferent social communities associated with the buddy.
 8. A system,comprising: a processor; and memory storing code that when executedcauses the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:receiving a recording schedule comprising media identifiers of contentto be recorded by a client device; determining the media identifiers ofall added season pass entries and deleted entries; for each determinedmedia identifier: querying a media database for the determined mediaidentifier, the media database storing associations between the mediaidentifiers and subject matters; retrieving a subject matter from themedia database that is associated with the determined media identifierin the recording schedule; querying a community database for the subjectmatter, the community database associating different social communitiesto different subject matters; retrieving a website address of a socialcommunity from the community database that is associated with thesubject matter; in response to determining an entry is added to therecording schedule for a season pass of the one of the mediaidentifiers, sending an opportunity to join the social community to theclient device; in response to determining the client device accepted theopportunity to join the social community, adding a device identifier ofthe client device to membership in the social community; and in responseto determining the entry is deleted from the recording schedule for theseason pass of the one of the media identifiers, removing the deviceidentifier of the client device from the membership in the socialcommunity.
 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the operationsfurther comprise retrieving a server address for each social community.10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the operations furthercomprise sending a listing of social communities to the client device.11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the operations furthercomprise querying for the membership.
 12. The system according to claim8, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a useridentification associated with the one of the media identifiers; andquerying a buddy database for the user identification.
 13. The systemaccording to claim 12, wherein the operations further compriseretrieving a buddy associated with the user identification.
 14. Thesystem according to claim 13, wherein the operations further comprisequerying for the social communities associated with the buddy.
 15. Amemory storing code that when executed causes a processor to performoperations, the operations comprising: receiving a recording schedulecomprising media identifiers of content to be recorded by a clientdevice; determining the media identifiers of all added season passentries and deleted entries; for each determined media identifier:querying a media database for the determined media identifier, the mediadatabase storing associations between the media identifiers and subjectmatters; retrieving a subject matter from the media database that isassociated with the determined media identifier in the recordingschedule; querying a community database for the subject matter, thecommunity database associating different social communities to differentsubject matters; retrieving a website address of a social community fromthe community database that is associated with the subject matter; inresponse to determining an entry is added to the recording schedule fora season pass of the one of the media identifiers, sending anopportunity to join the social community to the client device; inresponse to determining the client device accepted the opportunity tojoin the social community, adding a device identifier of the clientdevice to membership in the social community; and in response todetermining the entry is deleted from the recording schedule for theseason pass of the one of the media identifiers, removing the deviceidentifier of the client device from the membership in the socialcommunity.
 16. The memory according to claim 15, wherein the operationsfurther comprise sending a listing of social communities to a client.17. The memory according to claim 15, wherein the operations furthercomprise querying for the membership.
 18. The memory according to claim15, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a useridentification associated with the one of the media identifiers;querying a buddy database for the user identification; and retrieving abuddy associated with the user identification.